Don’t let the name fool you. Fairlight is not very light at all. What they play is a type of progressive, melodic death metal that is quite interesting and quite akin to Amorphis and other bands in that vein. Not to say that they sound like Amorphis as that would be far from the truth. The have a sound that is an amalgam of a few styles and they blend these styles together very nicely. The band is comprised of Bruno on lead guitar and vocals, Cyril: rhythm guitar, Romaric: bass, Christophe: drums and Constance on keyboards. This promo is actually a compilation of the bands debut e.p. Le Bal Des Eternals, a cover of "Hanger 18" by Megadeth which was first released on Dwell Record’s Megaded: A Tribute To Megadeth and the previously unreleased track "Altitudes".

For a seven song release this CD clocks in at a healthy 49 minutes. Now I am one of those who looks at the length of a record to actually see how much work a band has put into the release. I know that some of the best releases in Metal history have hovered around the 30 minute mark but to me in the year 2000 a band has to at least make an effort to come up with a Cd that is worth me shelling out $27. That being said, I hate a long CD that is full of crap so I guess I can’t win. Anyway, Fairlight kick of the disc with the previously unreleased track entitled "Altitudes". This song is Fairlight in a nutshell. Death vocals over some great melodic and progressively leaning metal. Bruno voice is very middle of the road in terms of his sound. It is not ultra heavy and at times reminds me of Jeff Walker of Carcass. "Hanger 18" is of course a cover of the Megadeth tune from their classic release Rust in Peace. The band keeps the integrity of the original intact while adding some keyboards to the breakdown just before the solo. A very good interpretation of a classic song. Here is where the Le Bal e.p. kicks in. The songs from here on out get a little longer and more progressive. At times the only thing that belies the bands melodic death leanings are the vocals of Bruno. "Type III" is a great progressive track which does a great job at uniting the bands death and progressive metal sides. The title track from the e.p. is a great doomy progressive jaunt with some great guitar work contributed by Bruno. Fairlight close out the promo with their most straight forward track "Dreamquest". This song is less on the progressive side than the other tracks and is a great closer for the CD.

Fairlight are one of those bands to watch out for. While France is not known for its metal bands, with the exception of a few such as Loudblast, Heavenly and Dream Child, they have definitely bred a winner with Fairlight. Melodic progressive death metal with some great technical abilities that is worth checking out.